Social Security was lifeline when disability derailed career

Julie Whitehead

By Julie Whitehead
Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting

By 2007 my quest to regain my mental equilibrium was not improving to the point I could return to work. About nine months had passed since I’d turned in my last freelance writing assignment. My bipolar disorder diagnosis had derailed my career.

Having worked for the Social Security Disability Insurance program for seven years, I was intimately familiar with a process I was now going to have to access for myself.

I had worked with people who could no longer keep a job because of a medical condition -- cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and diseases of all kinds – or who were suffering from mental illnesses that ranged from intellectual difficulties to schizophrenia and every other diagnosis in between. I was responsible for determining whether they could return to work or would qualify for disability payments from Social Security.

I was very good at the job, and as I got more responsibility, I was handed cases that had initially been denied to see if the decision was correct. I was promoted to the heartbreaking job of working with children with mental and physical disorders. I couldn’t leave the work at work.  I thought a lot about those people with oat cell carcinoma or Marfan’s syndrome or bipolar disorder. I eventually left to be a freelance writer until I had my major breakdown in 2006.

Although my family was not in financial straits, I was used to having my own money and paying my own expenses. I filed for benefits to have money to pay my share of the household bills. I also wanted to take advantage of Medicare in case my husband Bob’s work ever dropped their insurance benefits. His insurance had been good about paying my bills, but it had a lifetime limit on benefits. I wanted backup insurance in case I maxed it out. And what if something happened to Bob? I needed to have a steady income outside his salary.

Step one was to call the local Social Security office and file a claim. You can also go to the local Social Security office (www.ssa.gov can tell you where your local office is) and be interviewed, or request forms be sent to you by mail or fill them out online (also at www.ssa.gov).

Social Security will collect information on your financial and medical or mental condition -- financial to determine if you qualify for benefits under Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor and people not covered by Social Security Disability Insurance, and medical to determine medical eligibility for benefits.

Earnings are an important element in the financial determination. Some part-time workers are eligible for benefits if their pay does not exceed a threshold called “substantial gainful activity.” If you cannot work enough to earn a certain amount of money because of your condition, you may be eligible for benefits. If you had to cut back to part time because of your condition, you may be found eligible at the point you had to reduce your hours or pay. That finding can increase your back payment benefit and make you immediately eligible without having to fully quit work or go through the five-month waiting period for benefits to start. In my case, I was found eligible as soon as my earnings ended in July 2006.

Disability Determination Services for Social Security collects your medical records. List all doctors, counselors, hospitals, mental health centers and other treatment facilities you have been in. Social Security pays those entities to send in your records. If you haven’t been able to afford regular treatment, Social Security can pay for you to see a medical professional for a complete evaluation.

With regulations in place at the time for bipolar disorder, I was found eligible because I had experienced manic and depressive episodes at a certain frequency.

You can be allowed benefits on “residual functional capacity,” Social Security’s term for what kinds of work functions you still can perform. You can be allowed -- depending on your age, past work and level of education – to do medium, light or sedentary work and still receive benefits. If you are found unable to do skilled or unskilled work or have restrictions in interacting with people, you can be allowed benefits.

Be as specific and honest as possible about your symptoms, particularly if you do not have regular treatment. If you are taking medication and have side effects, make sure you report those as well, particularly if you have had to discontinue certain medications because of the severity of the side effects. Being noncompliant with treatment can affect whether Social Security will approve benefits.

Social Security sent me for exams for my vision and a full psychiatric evaluation. Since I had regular treatment, I scheduled an appointment with my treating psychiatrist, who asked me about my current functioning day to day and my difficulties working. (Depending on your diagnosis, you may also undergo physical or psychological testing.) The eye doctor did several specialized tests to determine the extent of my visual impairments.

If allowed benefits, Social Security will notify you when you became eligible and how much benefits you will receive. Keep this letter for your records. If denied, do not get discouraged. Tell the Social Security office you want to appeal. The agency will review your case. If denied again, appeal again, going before a judge versed in Social Security law. Contrary to what some may tell you, you do not need a lawyer to appeal to the judge—you can handle your own appeals. Avenues for appeal exist even after this level. Ask Social Security about those options.

If you do not have insurance and cannot work full time, filing for benefits can be a big help in securing treatment and income. If you are found eligible for Social Security benefits, you can become eligible within two years, if the condition persists, for Medicare, which will pay most of your hospital and doctor bills. If you are allowed and have minor children living in the house, they are also eligible for auxiliary monthly benefits until they graduate from high school. Such funds must be used to benefit the children.

If you meet the income threshold for Supplemental Security Income, you can be immediately eligible for Medicaid, which will also cover prescriptions for your condition as well as medical bills. So be persistent in pursuing your claim.

This column was produced by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization that seeks to inform, educate and empower Mississippians in their communities through the use of investigative journalism.